Pensions

[jaynem]

Hi,can anyone give me some advice re pensions.

I am a nurse in the NHS due to relocate to Adelaide in September,but I haven't a clue what will happen with my pension.

Cheers

Jayne

[tean]

Apparently it will automatically be frozen after you stop contributing to it. Not sure of the finer details sorry, so will be interested what others have to say on the matter!

[Guest markandcate]

I'm due to emigrate too in September and I'm in Superannuation at work so I asked our finance people and they said to give the Helpline a call (I've left number at work but will have it on Monday if anyone needs it!) According to my work they r really helpful which is unusual for a helpline!!

[Guest Linds & Greg]

Hi Jayne, I am a paramedic in the NHS and have been informed that Australia could request 20% of my pension and the rest would be frozen. I need to look into it further but 4 years ago when a fellow paramedic left the NHS they had to release 20% of there pensions to the Oz government. I don't know if it is still the same but wanted to let you know what I found out so far. We don't plan to leave until may next year but if you find out anything furthe. I'd love to hear. Good luck. Linds

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Hello

 

What happens to your Pensions will depend upon the type of Pensions that they are. If they are market linked pensions, for example personal pensions or stakeholder pensions etc then they will continue to perform in line with the investment funds that they are invested in.

 

If they are final salary pensions (defined benefit) then they will automatically become deferred (otherwise known as frozen), this does not mean that they are physically frozen however, instead the benefits that have been accrued thus far will increase in line with the cost of living as measured mainly now by the consumer prices index (CPI). You may recall that a number of months ago there were big protests about this change as it used to be that the increase achieved was measured in line with the retail prices index (RPI) which has been historically higher.

 

All you should do is ensure you inform your pension provider/adminstrator of your new address once in Australia so as you continue to receive the appropriate correspondence.

 

Once you have settled in Australia and your intention is to remain in Australia you should then consider the option of transferring your pension here, it is possible to transfer up to 100% of almost all types of schemes however there are a lot of complexities involved so you should ensure that you seek professional advice on this matterand you need to be aware of what you could be transferring out of.

 

Do not be tricked into transferring your scheme by UK companies or Bank Advisers in Australia when you arrive based on the 6 month tax free rule, this is a hook that they use to worry people into transferring so that they can secure your business. There is a tax rule that does exist however it really is not as onerous as can be made out and the tax (if any) can be mitigated.

 

I would also recommend that you seek advice from an Adviser that has a full in depth knowledge of both the UK system and Australian system.

 

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Guest Linds & Greg]

Hi Andy,

That is great advice thank you very much. I have read about transfering staright away, but great to know a little bit more at this stage.

Linds

[jaynem]

Many thanks for the advice/comments everyone

Jayne

[andy and lindsey]

Hi there

Just to let everyone know my husband and I are both nurses and had pension with the NHS in the UK. Andrew Williams looked at our pensions and helped us make an informed decision of where those pensions would work best for us. We transferred ours to Australia a couple of years ago when we decided that we wouldnt be returning to the UK. A decisive factor for us was the the way the pension worked for us in the event of death - the sum was then passed onto the surviving spouse or child - none was handed to the taxman but I am sure Andrew can expand on this for you.

 

Lindsey

[ozzieclare2be]

Hi im also a nurse and worked for 10+ yrs in NHS. I waited to be sure then saw Andy Williams who sorted out the transfer , was pretty simple really.

[chrisfen46]

Hi,can anyone give me some advice re pensions.

I am a nurse in the NHS due to relocate to Adelaide in September,but I haven't a clue what will happen with my pension.

Cheers

Jayne

Hi there well i have just spoken to a rep from argent international concerning my personal pension , very very good was pleasantly suprised to find out that going through them i will infact double my pension fund , will have to keep it in uk for 5 yrs then transfer it to oz. benifits been no inheritance tax get full 100% of pension and uk gov dont get a bloody penny. any way for any one interested here is the add.. www.argentinternational.com

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

Hi there well i have just spoken to a rep from argent international concerning my personal pension , very very good was pleasantly suprised to find out that going through them i will infact double my pension fund , will have to keep it in uk for 5 yrs then transfer it to oz. benifits been no inheritance tax get full 100% of pension and uk gov dont get a bloody penny. any way for any one interested here is the add.. www.argentinternational.com

 

 

Hi

 

 

Thanks for your input, I just wondered can you clarify what you mean by using them you will double your pension fund??

 

Also you say that you will have to keep it in the UK for 5 years before you transfer it to Oz, this is not actually the case a pension can be transferred to an Australian fund straight away, can you expand on this?

 

Thanks, Andy

[chrisfen46]

Hi

 

 

Thanks for your input, I just wondered can you clarify what you mean by using them you will double your pension fund??

 

Also you say that you will have to keep it in the UK for 5 years before you transfer it to Oz, this is not actually the case a pension can be transferred to an Australian fund straight away, can you expand on this?

 

Thanks, Andy

well will do my best as no expert . once you have proved that you are not going to return to uk after 5 yrs the uk govt are no longer entiteld to tax from your pension. now the other bit is i can set a price say just for example say of $2 to the £1 so within the 5 yr bracket the exchange rate improves and excahange rate goes up to or near my bench mark of $2 i can then transfer my pension fund over to aus, so say i have a pension worth £40k my pension will then be worth $80k on transfer (you can alter the bench mark when ever you like). with the added benifit that i dont have to pay any tax to uk and i also get the full 100% and if anything should happen to me my wife will get the full amount with out losing any money to the uk tax man. i went through argent on recomendation they use a company called ostopus who charge £150 pa to look after your pensiononce transferd you can start to payinto your fund again if you so whish to. iam no expert , i found them very helpfull so thats my opinion..

[Andrew from Vista Financial]

well will do my best as no expert . once you have proved that you are not going to return to uk after 5 yrs the uk govt are no longer entiteld to tax from your pension. now the other bit is i can set a price say just for example say of $2 to the £1 so within the 5 yr bracket the exchange rate improves and excahange rate goes up to or near my bench mark of $2 i can then transfer my pension fund over to aus, so say i have a pension worth £40k my pension will then be worth $80k on transfer (you can alter the bench mark when ever you like). with the added benifit that i dont have to pay any tax to uk and i also get the full 100% and if anything should happen to me my wife will get the full amount with out losing any money to the uk tax man. i went through argent on recomendation they use a company called ostopus who charge £150 pa to look after your pensiononce transferd you can start to payinto your fund again if you so whish to. iam no expert , i found them very helpfull so thats my opinion..

 

 

Ok thanks.

 

 

I cannot really see any benefit for making a transfer of your pension to a scheme with this company and then to subsequently transfer it to Australia.

 

Firstly, the exchange rate, if you believe that the exchange rate will improve over the next few years then why not leave it in your existing pension and transfer when/if it does.

 

Secondly, you mention that the UK government will not get any tax if you transfer to this scheme. If you left it in your existing scheme and transferred it to Australia in future years nor would they get any tax. Personal Pensions are generally tax free in accumulation phase, the tax only comes into play whilst you are drawing an income from a pension.

 

Also inheritance tax is unlikely to be an issue if the money is to be paid to your Wife anyway and if your Wife were to pass away before you then unless you have a considerable amount of assets, see here for thresholds http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/iht-thresholds.htm again it will not be an issue.

 

In any event moving your assets overseas or actually moving overseas yourself does not mean that inheritance tax if applicable (ie over the thresholds and assets being passed to non-spouse) is not payable, it depends on domicile and this can be a very complex area.

 

By transferring twice, once with this company and then again to Australia in the future will mean that you will have 2 sets of fees to pay.

 

I understand that you feel these people have been helpful but I believe that this will be a waste of your money.

 

I specialise in this field here in Australia and was also a Financial Adviser in the UK and from what you have said so far I fail to see the reasoning behind this. I do not mean to come across as questioning you but am merely trying to understand why this will be of benefit to you.

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

Andy

[chrisfen46]

Ok thanks.

 

 

I cannot really see any benefit for making a transfer of your pension to a scheme with this company and then to subsequently transfer it to Australia.

 

Firstly, the exchange rate, if you believe that the exchange rate will improve over the next few years then why not leave it in your existing pension and transfer when/if it does.

 

Secondly, you mention that the UK government will not get any tax if you transfer to this scheme. If you left it in your existing scheme and transferred it to Australia in future years nor would they get any tax. Personal Pensions are generally tax free in accumulation phase, the tax only comes into play whilst you are drawing an income from a pension.

 

Also inheritance tax is unlikely to be an issue if the money is to be paid to your Wife anyway and if your Wife were to pass away before you then unless you have a considerable amount of assets, see here for thresholds http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/iht-thresholds.htm again it will not be an issue.

 

In any event moving your assets overseas or actually moving overseas yourself does not mean that inheritance tax if applicable (ie over the thresholds and assets being passed to non-spouse) is not payable, it depends on domicile and this can be a very complex area.

 

By transferring twice, once with this company and then again to Australia in the future will mean that you will have 2 sets of fees to pay.

 

I understand that you feel these people have been helpful but I believe that this will be a waste of your money.

 

I specialise in this field here in Australia and was also a Financial Adviser in the UK and from what you have said so far I fail to see the reasoning behind this. I do not mean to come across as questioning you but am merely trying to understand why this will be of benefit to you.

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

Andy

i am happy with what i have been told its a new product all i have done is made a reference to this company for other members to use if they so wish. as i have said its a new product so i would suggest to anyone to read up on it first.